November 1, 2023
Transcript by Gallery and Curatorial Fellow Cat Teo
Transcript
Loretta Park’s Up Down Corner, 2023, is a piece that gives us a deeper dive into Park’s mentality when approaching an artwork . This sculpture includes several found objects such as a plastic shovel, a lunch plate, yarn, and various other materials. Weavings and chains connect the objects making them into one large sculpture. Up Down Corner is placed in the corner of the gallery, covering two walls which makes its composition distinct in comparison to the other pieces in the show.
Fabric, textiles, and weavings are all integral to Park’s art work, in this piece especially, she uses them to connect many of the objects into a cohesive sculpture. Park often begins with one object to use as a starting point and builds off of it, responding to what came before by adding or subtracting components. Color and texture are important aspects that Park considers when workshopping a piece. One of the tactics she uses in her creative process is placing objects that juxtaposes one another in direct contrast.
In this sculpture, she started off with the green lunch plate and a shark-like wooden object, wanting to incorporate both into the work. Soon after, she started working on the weavings which made her begin to think what this sculpture was going to be. The process of weaving on a loom is a newer aspect of her work, making the addition of it transformative. Park’s approach to her work is intuitive, taking in what she’s seeing and then feeling out the best way to move forward after digesting her previous steps.
This process of action and reaction can also be seen in the way she thought about her material choices at the beginning of her career. Initially, Park found herself using second hand fabrics due to their accessibility. Working with people’s memories was a focal point in her work due to the fact that the materials were previously owned by other people. Park, however, didn’t feel a connection in investigating the deeper memories of these objects and this idea artistically boxed her in. In our conversation, she also conveyed that it felt as if she was giving herself too easy an explanation for her choice of materials. Park’s ideology surrounding her materials now is more about finding things that can be accessible to her audience physically and in their understanding of her work.
Loretta Park has an intuitive and instinctive process when it comes to her art work. This method has allowed her to break through many barriers to create eye-catching and unique work. Through this understanding of the thought process behind many of these sculptures, how can we as the viewer identify ways that Park is responding to what she’s seeing?